July 25, 2012 2:04pm EDTJuly 24, 2012 7:45pm EDTNewcomer West Virginia is the Big 12's summer love. Much of that spark can be attributed to senior QB Geno Smith, who leads an offense that scored 70 points (league average, give or take) in its last game.

DALLAS—In case you’re one of those who noted the geographical weirdness of West Virginia’s move to the Big 12 and thought, geez, this marriage might not work, you can stop worrying now.

From Morgantown to Ames to Stillwater to Lubbock, it’s all good. The entirety of Big 12 country, in fact, is in full swoon over the Mountaineers. There’s so much love-at-first-sight for the gang from the Mountain State, it’s beyond weird. It’s a little crazy.

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If the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the SEC, the Southern media might be so magnanimous as to vote them in the middle of the pack in preseason polls. The Mountaineers? The Big 12 media have them pegged for second place. Ahead of defending champion Oklahoma State. Ahead of the 2011 freight train that was Kansas State. Ahead of resurgent Texas.

West Virginia lost three times last season and has 15 losses since Rich Rodriguez left the program four years ago. TCU, the other Big 12 newcomer, has five losses in that time. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State—even Texas—haven’t lost as many as the Mountaineers.

But no matter.

“That’s an excellent football team,” Bob Stoops said.

He wasn’t talking about the Orange.

The question is: Why is there such widely held belief that West Virginia is the biggest threat to conference favorite Oklahoma?

The answers probably can be summed up like this:

1. The media do not believe Oklahoma State is strong enough yet to lose great players (Justin Blackmon, Brandon Weeden) and keep winning.

2. They believe what Bill Snyder, Collin Klein and K-State pulled off last season was a fluke.

But there’s a real feeling that West Virginia is a perfect fit for the Big 12. Certainly, its coach, Dana Holgorsen—who worked extensively under Mike Leach and also for Mike Gundy—fits the nation’s premier offensive conference like a glove. And so will 6-3 senior Smith, if he’s half as spectacular in Year 2 running Holgorsen’s offense as folks around here have made up their minds he will be.

Heck, even Klein and Jones have Geno fever. Each of them—asked to pick the league’s best quarterback, not including himself—chose the man from Morgantown.

“Those guys deserve the (recognition) as much as I do,” Smith said.

That’s nice, but you can rest assured that Smith doesn’t completely believe it. What does Smith believe in? In 2012 for the Mountaineers. In a long, productive NFL career for himself. In Holgorsen.

“I’ve become a totally different player than I was last year, and I’m ready to let the world see it.”

If you’ve detected a skeptical tone in this column, it’s no accident. Yes, Smith is a terrific quarterback with a bright present and future—not to mention an outside shot at the Heisman Trophy. No skepticism on that front. But West Virginia, a good team, has at least half a dozen other good Big 12 teams to play this season. A few of them may even be better than Syracuse.

Holgorsen is an impressive coach, but he’s got a long way to go to reach Stoopsville. This probably is the best coaching league in America, with Stoops, Snyder, Gundy, Mack Brown, Gary Patterson et al. Holgorsen and his offense belong here—in this league and in this company. Second place right off the bat, though? No likelier, in one skeptic’s opinion, than any of several other teams finishing that high.

Surprising that the Big 12 media don’t feel the same way.

The people of West Virginia got accustomed to the Mountaineers having certain advantages within the Big East. More butts in the seats. More fans who travel to games. More winning. What Holgorsen has been telling them is: “What we’re getting into is the same thing we’ve got at home. … (It) exists at the other nine universities in the Big 12, as well.”

All of which makes West Virginia a perfect fit for its new conference. It doesn’t necessarily justify love at first sight. Second place? That’s awfully high up there.